Time Turns Old Flames To Embers
by Geek Without Glasses
Summary: Chiron had told him it would get better, that the nightmares would go away with time. Eventually Tartarus would seem like nothing more than a murky memory, and he'd be able to sleep soundly.


Nico shivered in the cold. It was always cold in the Hades cabin, he couldn't find a thermostat, and had come to the conclusion that there wasn't one. So every night he went through the same routine; change into track-pants and a hoodie, curl up under a pile of blankets, fall asleep with his teeth chattering, and then wake up from a nightmare at exactly one thirteen a.m.

Chiron had told him it would get better, that the nightmares would go away with time. Eventually Tartarus would seem like nothing more than a murky memory, and he'd be able to sleep soundly.

Only it hadn't. Rather than getting better, Nico felt as though the nightmares wereworsening. Every night, he woke up in a cold sweat, his own screams caught in his throat. It was always the same, a pit so dark he couldn't see his own hands, a voice, sickly sweet, whispering in his ear, telling him to give up, let go, and tell her all the gods' secrets. He dreamt of Gaea running her gnarled fingers through his hair, wrapping him in a strong embrace, suffocating him. The jar, the feeling of despair that ran through him, he relived it every night. He'd thought of giving up the slight hope of rescue that sparked inside him, he considered forgetting the pomegranate seeds, letting himself die.

Nico sat up in bed, not caring that it was the middle of the night. He put on his shoes and walked out the door, relishing the fresh air. He allowed his feet to guide him, walking aimlessly through the camp. Nico looked at the stars, naming all the constellations Bianca had taught him when they were younger: Gemini, Cancer, Hercules, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Pegasus, Orion.

He hadn't noticed he was standing outside the Poseidon cabin until the sound of someone crying shook him out of his trance. Instantly, he was alert, listening to the sounds more closely. Nico could vaguely make out someone talking in a comforting voice, and realized with a shock that Percy wasn't alone in his cabin. Even more surprising was the fact that he recognized Annabeth as the one crying.

Nico turned to leave, eager to give the couple some privacy, but just his luck, he tripped over a rock sticking out of the ground, landing with a loud _thump._ Immediately, the noise from the cabin stopped, and Nico heard footsteps approaching. Time seemed to slow down as the wooden door creaked open, and Percy, his hair a mess, with dark circles under his eyes, and the front of his T-shirt wet, poked his head out. His eyes settled on the son of Hades sprawled on the ground, and his expression softened.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked, rubbing his eyes "It's two a.m."

"I was taking a walk, and I tripped over this goddamned rock."

Percy's expression turned solemn "Couldn't sleep?"

Nico didn't have to say anything, the son of Poseidon took his silence as an answer. He understood, he'd seen what Nico had, he probably didn't sleep much either.

He heard more footsteps approaching, and suddenly Annabeth was standing behind Percy. She looked like hell too, her curls were a mess, as though they hadn't been brushed in days, her eyes were ringed a dark tinge, and her face was puffy from crying. "Come inside, it's freezing out here."

Nico was tempted to turn around and go back to his cabin, but he could feel the heat wafting out the door. Plus, he craved human interaction, he hadn't talked to anyone in days. Sure, he'd said polite hellos to a few people as he passed them, he'd explained to the younger kids which side of the sword to kill monsters with, but a _real_ conversation, he couldn't remember the last one he'd had.

He took a tentative step forward, and walked onto the Poseidon cabin's porch. Percy turned around, and Nico followed him into the warmth.

"It's below zero out there, Nico!" Annabeth launched into overprotective mom mode "What were you thinking, walking around in a hoodie?"

"It's no colder than my cabin, and the Hades cabin's creepy. So I took a walk."

"You took a walk! Are you insa-" She cut off suddenly "What do you mean it's no colder outside than it is in your cabin?"

"There's no heat in there, I thought that was obvious. Didn't you design the thing?"

Annabeth's brow furrowed, the same way it always did when she was thinking, eventually her face took on the stern mom look again. "You're gonna stay in here tonight." It wasn't a question or a suggestion. The way she said it made it very obvious that Nico had no choice but to stay, unless he wanted an angry daughter of Athena hunting him down.

Annabeth grabbed his hood, dragging him farther into the cabin. To Nico's surprise, only one of the beds looked like it had been slept in recently.

"Do you still..." Annabeth didn't finish her sentence, but she didn't need to. Nico knew exactly what she was trying to ask.

"Every night. That's why I go outside, I feel too claustrophobic whenever I'm in my cabin. It's like I'm trapped in that jar all over again. Not to mention it looks a hell of a lot like _Tartarus_ in there, all dark and gloomy."

"I do too. I mean, it's obviously not as bad for me as it is for you, I had Percy down there with me. But that doesn't mean I can make it through the night without waking up screaming. I started scaring my siblings, especially the younger ones, and I'm pretty sure Malcolm was pretty freaked out too. So I just started staying here, and I've actually gotten better"

She grabbed his arm, then pulled back immediately. "Gods of Olympus! You're freezing!"

"It's a Hades thing."

"I'm pretty damn sure it isn't a Hades thing Nico di Angelo! Hazel isn't ever that cold, don't try to tell me it's a Hades thing! If you were any colder I'd say you had freaking hypothermia!"

That was when Percy appeared from wherever it was he'd disappeared to, arms full of blankets. His eyes flicked from Nico to Annabeth, to Nico again, as if he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. Then he had his signature grin on his face again. "What'd I miss?"

"Nico's basically a popsicle."

"Am not."

"You are."

"I'm not a popsicle!"

"You're both wrong." Two heads turned to Percy "What? I think he's a ghosticle."

Annabeth rolled her eyes "You're an idiot."

"But I'm _your_ idiot." These two seriously made Nico want to puke.

"Shut up and build the blanket fort."

* * *

The next morning, Nico woke up feeling better than he had in weeks. He realized with a start that he hadn't had a single nightmare the night before. That's when he realized someone had their arms _around his waist._ Now, normally Nico was not a very touchy-feely person, but when you realized you were on the floor of your ex-crushes cabin, beneath a gazillion sheets draped from one bunk-bed post to another, cuddling with him and his _girlfriend._ Well, that was just about the opposite of what a not very touchy-feely person would normally enjoy.

He got up quickly, and made his way to the door quickly. He tried to ease it open silently. Keyword being _tried,_ it opened with a noise that seemed as loud as Ceberus' bark in the still morning. He heard stirring from the fort, and before he could make a quick escape, Annabeth poked her head out.

"You know, you're staying here until I can get Jake and Nyssa to fix your heating."


End file.
